


Together

by audreyslove



Series: OQ Happy Endings Week [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 22:02:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15252975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreyslove/pseuds/audreyslove
Summary: For #OQHappyEndingWeek, day 3: dark!oqAlso a flash forward in my Dark!OQ series, a bit.And based on the prompt Dark!OQ: kiss after a small rejection





	Together

They are happy together, the Queen and him.  Absurdly happy, he thinks. They want for absolutely nothing, having a beautiful son, a lovely castle, are surrounded by friends and loved ones.

 

So he doesn’t quite know why Regina seems intent on threatening their happiness by bringing Robin Hood back from the grave.

 

“She’s not whole without him,” The Queen says softly.  “She gave me my soulmate.  The least I can do is give her hers.”

 

But bringing someone back from the dead is difficult work, to say the least.

 

It consumes her.

 

She’s no longer present for most mid-afternoon meals, and she is increasingly absent for dinner.  She always makes it in time for Roland’s bedtime, and is always there to rise with the boy, for much of his day, the boy and Robin are alone to find adventures together. 

 

She’s asked for Locksley’s blood, his hair, he’s let her rip his heart out and study it, taken a lock of little Roland’s hair, but when asked what these things are used for, she can only shrug.

 

“Probably nothing.  I don’t know if what I’m doing will work yet.”

 

One day she tells him she will be gone overnight.  She looks wild and excited, and he imagines she has finally done it, finally discovered how to bring the man back.

 

But she returns the next day looking worn and defeated, snapping at him when he as much as attempts to soothe her.

 

“Leave me alone,  _ thief.” _ She spats, pushing away his hand, and the rejection hurts more than he thought it would.

 

He fights the urge to fight back, or leave.  Neither will do any good.  So he presses for honesty.

 

“I love you,” Robin whispers, catching her eyes as he says it.  “I do, Regina, it’s why I married you.  Never thought I would marry anyone ever.  But I married you, because I love you, and I don’t want to be apart from you.  But lately you seem so far away from me.”

 

“I’m right here,” she grumbles, but he’s caught her attention, he can tell by the way she looks at him, already chasing his eyes, her body pulled towards his, leaning into his direction. 

 

She is listening.

 

“You are dedicating your life to  _ him _ , and you love him, Regina.  You’ve admitted as much, and—“

 

“I’m bringing him back  _ for her,”  _ Regina reminds.  “Not for me.  I already have you.”

 

“But this is a man you loved, a man you’ve known for far longer than you’ve known me, a man you’ve kissed and fucked and touched and dreamt of a future with, and I can’t imagine this will be easy on you.  Every day you are trying to bring him back.  And I’m not him, we discussed this, and I’ve never fooled myself into believing you could love me as much, I just worry that if you’re able to get him back you might—“

 

“Take him from my better half and keep him for myself?” Regina scoffs angrily.  “I would  _ never  _ do that.  This is for her, he is  _ for her. _ ”

 

“I worry you may try to find a way to merge with her,” Robin speaks tentatively.  “She is a part of you, and he is too, and you love them both, have a history that you will never share with me.  I just don’t fit, and these last few months I’ve worried that I cannot make you happy.”

 

“You idiot,” she growls, in typical Regina fashion, her velvet dress swooshing as she walks towards him.  “You and Roland make me deliriously happy.  So happy I feel guilty, because I know every ounce of pain she is feeling, it’s why I need to get him back — so I can enjoy this properly, it’s unfair, Robin, that I get to be so happy while she does not!  She deserves it more than I do, and I know her loneliness better than anyone.  I am not going to leave you or Roland.  I just want her to have her own happiness.”

 

He understands, he thinks, the impassioned way she speaks, the anger that saturated her words.  She still has days where she covers up her vulnerability, her love, her fears, with that anger of hers.  And he finds it rather endearing.  Anger is passion.  Anger means she cares.

 

She doesn’t fight him when he walks towards her, wraps arms around her, presses a kiss to her forehead.  she even hugs him back. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.  “You make me happy too.  And I worry for you, it’s hard seeing you work yourself half to death.  I’m sorry this is so hard for me to understand.”

 

She is hugging him back, tightly, and he hears her muffled voice croak out “It's alright.  You can’t help being an idiot.”

 

He chuckles at that and sways them a bit, before drawing back from the hug far enough to look her in the eyes and capture her lips.

 

Her eyes are a wet and red, but he will pretend he doesn’t notice.

 

She’ll only be more angry if he mentions her tears. 

 

“I should talk to you more about this,” she concedes.  “Tell you more details.  Perhaps that would help make this easier.”

 

“It would, I believe,” he says softly.

 

“Well… do you have any other questions or concerns?”

 

He sighs, furrowing his brow as he steps away from her embrace.  It takes courage for him to voice this fear, but it’s one he’s quietly wrestled for awhile, and he cannot avoid speaking it out loud.  “If he returns, he will take Roland from us, Regina, and I know I’m not his father, and that he’s right to, but I love that boy as if he were my own.  I know I said I didn’t like children, so this may come as a shock to you.  I’m scared of losing him, Regina, he’s not my blood but he’s my  _ son.” _

 

“ Robin would never take him from you.” He demeanor has shifted, into that motherly, soothing voice she usually deserves for children.  She’s done pretending to be angry with him, it seems.

 

“How could he not?  He’s his  _ son. _  They have years of memories together, the boy will belong to his father.”

 

“He will belong to both of you.  As Roland sees the mayor, he will see his father.  It will be a more even split, but he won’t take him from us.  I know that.”

 

“How can you?” Robin asks.  

 

“Because I know him.  And because you’re right, and wrong in a way.  He is your son.  But he’s also your blood.  You may not have memories but…”. she takes a deep breath and he realizes she’s sharing something she’s kept hidden.  “You’re a part of him, Robin.  We’ve discussed the possibilities before, but I’ve done many trials, now, and plenty of research and it’s clear.  Your soul, your heart, it’s a part of him.  I don’t know how it happened.  I don’t know how he was able to split from beyond the grave, but he did it.  You are every bit Roland’s father.  And  _ when  _ I bring Robin back — because I will bring him back — Robin will know that. He knows that now, wherever he is, that’s why he pushed you so hard to love Roland from beyond the grave.  He won’t take that away from us.  He wants you caring for his family.  He loves us.  I know it.  I  _ feel  _ it.”

 

“So you’re saying Robin’s soul truly did split the same way yours did?” He asks hopefully.

 

She nods, offering the softest of smiles.  She approaches him and cups his cheek. “When I was a part of Regina, Robin was my soulmate.  When we split, it appears so did he.  And you, you are my soulmate.  I don’t know where he is, if he’s still in heaven or wandering around in some other realm waiting to find Regina, but I know he’s her soulmate, just as you are mine.  Not him, not whatever version of him there is now.  Because like me and Regina, he won’t be entirely the same, not after a split. I may still love him, but the parts I love most are inside of you.”

 

She kisses him gently on the lips, her thumb stroking the side of his cheek.

 

It’s a small gesture but more than makes up for the small part of rejection he felt earlier.

 

He knows she has many sleepless nights ahead of her, and he will miss her terribly at many points during this quest of hers.  Regina doesn’t give up, and bringing someone back from the dead is not easy, could take a lifetime.

 

But he’s proud to be at her side, to help in whatever way he can as she does what most think is impossible.

 

It’s heartache, watching her suffer failure after failure.  She’s so close, she says.  There's a formula, a recipe, but without a powerful trigger she cannot bring the man back to their realm.  

 

Until the other Regina unites all the realms, that is.  

 

When it happens, he sees the delight in her eyes as she tells him that this time,  _ this  _ time, she can bring his other half back, with the proper help, the proper words, with Henry helping her, she can….

 

He doesn’t ever doubt her.  He’s learned to never underestimate her abilities, she keeps shocking the universe with what she can accomplish.

 

So he isn’t surprised, not really, when he meets his other half, standing next to his worn, yet victorious looking Queen.

  
Finally, all parts of him and her can enjoy their happiness.  It’s a messy, complicated family, but it’s his, and he loves every moment of his life with her.


End file.
